Conveyor systems are used through industry for many reasons such as loading or unloading a truck, moving articles within a machine or factory, or moving articles to a secondary packing location. Conveyor systems typically include a plurality of rollers so that as an article such as a box is placed on the conveyor system the article can be moved without lifting the article as the article moves between two locations. Some conveyor systems only include free rolling rollers that allow an article to move using gravity, a push from a user, or another article pushing a first article down the conveyor. Some conveyor systems are motorized so that one or more of the rollers rotate to move an article along the conveyor system. These conveyor systems generally include a motor within one or more of the rollers or a motor that is suspended from the conveyor frame that rotates one or more of the rollers. The one or more rotated rollers may be coupled to other rollers so that multiple rollers are driven by a motor. These motors are typically connected to a controller, which is located at a location separate from the motor. However, attempts have been made to connect a controller to a motor, but keep the controller separate from the motor so that heat from the motor is not transferred to the controller. Generally, during operation controllers and especially power switching devices have a shorter life span than an associated motor, thus, the controller fails before the motor, requiring the controller to be replaced. The controller heating up or being heated by the motor may contribute to a shorter life span of the controller.
Examples of conveyor systems may be found in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,206,181; and 7,537,107; 8,757,363; and 9,004,263 all of which are incorporated by reference herein for all purposes. It would be attractive to have a controller that is located within a motor housing. What is needed is a controller that connects directly to the frame and supports a motor. It would be attractive to have a controller and motor that are connected together and are suspended from a frame. What is needed is a controller that is in contact with a wall of a motor housing, a controller housing, or both and the wall of the motor housing, the controller housing, or both are in contact with a frame of the conveyor system. It would be attractive to have power switching devices that are cooled by the frame as a heat sink.